In addition to its partnership with JD, Central Group is also mentioned in another story involving ride-hailing giant Grab

JD Central, a joint venture between Chinese e-commerce giant JD and Thai retail group Central Group, announced its plan to launch an automated retail store in Bangkok in 2019, as part of its effort to become the market leader for e-commerce in the country by 2020.

According to a Bangkok Post report, the unmanned store will implement facial recognition technology, and that the company is currently considering the location for the store.

It also plans to deploy autonomous warehouse robots to replace manpower and eventually cut overhead costs, but JD Central Chief Executive Vincent Yang said that the company still needs to get government approval to use robots and autonomous delivery vehicles.

Grab reportedly in talks to sell Thai unit stake to Central Group – The Star

Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab is reportedly in talks to sell a “decent-sized” stake in its Thai business unit to retail giant Central Group.

According to anonymous sources, the discussion has been going on “for some time” and the size is yet to be determined, The Star wrote.

Grab had declined to comment on “rumours and speculation” while Central Group did not respond to request for comment.

Also Read: I tried out JDVirtual for grocery shopping. Fun and convenient, but is it worth the price?

Chinese AI-powered English language learning app Liulishuo, which is created and operated by LAIX Inc, raised US$71.9 million by offering 5.72 million American depositary shares (ADS) in its US initial public offering.

In a Dealstreet Asia report, the IPO was considered “lower than targeted” as the company first filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to US$100 million.

A Bloomberg report also in July had also forecasted the company to raise US$300 million.

Liulishuo wants to use the funding to support R&D and tech development.

Malaysia, Singapore to share waste management tech – Daily Express

Malaysia and Singapore have made an agreement to strengthen cooperation and idea exchange on innovative technology in waste management, including plastics and packaging waste, Daily Express reported.

The agreement was announced by Malaysia’s minister of energy, science, technology, environment, and climate change Yeo Bee Yin in the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment (MSJCE) meeting on Thursday.

“I am very much looking forward to learn from Zero Waste Singapore, whereby it challenges the old way of thinking about waste as something that has no value and to be thrown away. If we don’t act now, the world is going to be full of waste since the global population will hit 10 billion people by 2050,” the minister said.

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